Brunei Travel Guide

The Sultanate of Brunei or Negara Brunei Darussalam in local
language is a small but thanks to natural gas and petroleum resources rich
country located in Southeast Asia. Brunei is bordered by Malaysia
and has two parts physically separated by Malaysia, almost being an enclave.
Strategically located on the South China Sea, close to vital sea lanes linking
Indian and Pacific Oceans, it has an exclusive economic fishing zone that
extends as far as Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands although it makes
no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs.

Although a tiny state with a small population on the northern coast
of Borneo in South-East Asia, Brunei has one of the
highest standards of living in the world thanks to sizeable deposits of oil and
gas.

Brunei is a heavily forested state, and most human activity is
restricted either to coastal areas or estuaries. Visitors will encounter the
grandeur of Islamic architecture and royal tradition
in Brunei and cannot miss architectural treasures such as the Sultan Omar Ali
Saifuddien Mosque, with its gleaming gold dome.

The country only gained independence in 1984, but has the world’s oldest
reigning monarchy and centuries of royal heritage. At the helm of the
only remaining Malay Islamic monarchy in the world, the Sultan of Brunei
comes from a family line that dates back over 600 years. The first sultan
ascended the throne in 1405, founding a dynasty of which the current sultan, His
Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is the 29th ruler.

In 1984, the sultan declared Negara Brunei Darussalam ('Brunei, The Abode of
Peace') as a sovereign, democratic and independent Malay Muslim monarchy
(Melayu Islam Beraja) which would be administered according to the
teachings of Islam. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has been on the throne for 38 years
and is one of